To Protect and Serve
by flawlessphoenix
Summary: Everyone at the Sheriff's station thought Derek Hale hated Stiles Stilinski, as did Stiles. Naturally when the two deputies are finally assigned to different partners after spending a year working together everyone assumes Derek would be overjoyed to be rid of Stiles. Well, everyone would find themselves clumped together in the wrong column. Gen or Pre-slash. Deputy AU.


A/N: A little plot bunny I tried to finish before Valentine's Day since there's some pre-slash undertones but my deadline and I didn't see eye to eye.

Small warning: there is a small sexual humor joke towards the end, nothing graphic though.

Sorry for any inaccuracy of police procedures in this fic. Creative liberties!

As always criticism is welcomed. All mistakes are my own.

Enjoy!

When Deputy Derek Hale stepped inside the Beacon HIlls Sheriff's Station, small duffle bag in one hand and large coffee cup in the other, he expected the day to start as any other. He spotted his partner, Stiles Stilinski, talking animatedly with fellow deputies, Isaac Lahey and Scott McCall, in the bullpen - same as any morning before heading to the briefing room for daily announcements. He gave a friendly slap on the back to his former partner, Vernon Boyd, on his way to his desk to drop off his duffel bag. By the time Derek finished his coffee and caught up with Boyd it was time to head into the briefing room, like clockwork. Yes, everything in Derek's morning routine was going according to plan. That was until the sheriff gave his first announcement of the day.

"It is my pleasure to introduce our new transfer from Seattle, Kira Yukimura." The sheriff waited until the welcoming round of applause ended before going forth. "I hope you'll show our newest resident a warm welcome. And for your new partner you will have the privilege of working with Deputy Derek Hale."

Derek's gut churned as soon as the sentence left the Sheriff's lips and he turned to his partner, sitting beside him, who gave a thin smile that looked far from happy.

"Guess you finally got what you wanted, Derek." Stiles said in low tone for Derek's ears only as Derek stared back feeling shell shocked. He stood up from his seat and patted the chair to give Derek's new partner a hint to who she was being paired with.

Kira sat in the spot presented by Stiles and shook hands with Derek, unaware of the mental state Derek was going through at the moment. He tried to follow the briefing as best he could but his focus kept taking him to Stiles leaning on the wall absorbed in writing on a clipboard, an odd thing Stiles never did. Derek also noticed Kira taking notes of the meeting's highlights, allowing him to feel less guilty about practically ignoring the sheriff. He wished there was something to make him feel less guilty about Stiles. To anyone else, Stiles looked bored scribbling away while he should have been paying attention but Derek knew after months of working with him it was a look of melancholy. And it was Derek's grumpy personality that put it there.

After the briefing was over, the sheriff exited in the hall heading to his office giving Derek the privacy he needed. Once he excused himself to Kira, Derek joined the sheriff in his office and softly closed the door behind him.

"Sir, I have a matter to discuss with you."

"What's going on, son? I pray you're not going to say the same thing when I assigned Stiles to work with you." Sheriff Stilinski said wearily.

As soon as Derek met his new partner Stiles Stilinski, he immediately he would end up going to jail for murder, which would suck because Derek liked his job and his freedom.

"No, not exactly. But I have to ask why did you assign me to work with the transfer?" Derek questioned, standing next to the chair in front of the sheriff's desk but too one edge to sit down.

"I thought it was what you wanted. You were standing right there...five separate times that first day you and Stiles were assigned together and asked, practically begging, to be reassigned. Well, we're finally giving you a new partner as requested."

Derek remembered Stiles pepper spraying a breakfast burrito on a dare as one of the many incidents that sent him running to the sheriff's office that first day. How could someone so smart be so reckless at times? A question that still weighed on Derek a year later.

"I know that, sir. But it's been close to a year since I made any request."

"Yes, I know it's taken longer than you'd wanted. But with the steadily growing population of the town, the department has been given more resources to finally hire extra help."

"Stiles and I - Stiles," Derek scratched his beard as he tried to articulate his thoughts but the idea of admitting he actually liked, even looked forward to seeing Stiles on a daily basis was too much for the deputy to say aloud. "Stiles. He needs constant watch. I'm used to handling him, so I might as well continue." Derek used for an excuse.

Sheriff Stilinski chuckled fondly. "My son can be quite the handful, I know, but you don't have to worry. Like I said during the briefing," the briefing that traveled through deaf ears for Derek. "Jordan Parrish is off desk duty and returning to the field with Stiles as his partner. Parrish and Stiles have always gotten along well together. So you are officially off the hook, Derek."

Derek's downturned mouth and scrunched brows caused Sheriff Stilinski to inquire if there was anything wrong with him. Derek shook his head and left the office to begin his shift with his partner. His new partner.

But not before he made a quick stop. Derek grabbed his duffel bag before apologizing to Kira again as he left her at his desk. She didn't seem to mind too much since Scott was keeping her company.

With no warning, Derek pushes the bag in Parrish's chest with more force than necessary. Derek excused it to himself as being in a rush.

Parrish peered inside the bag, unbothered by Derek's tactless nature from the years he's known the man. "Um, thank you Derek. I already have spare uniforms though, plus these are a bit small for me."

"Those are for the idiot with you. Stiles can never keep himself clean on (?)."

Parrish's laugh came to an abrupt stop when he saw the unchanged steel look on Deputy Hale. He cleared his throat nervously, "I thought you were making a joke."

"You think I'd make a joke about something that stupid?"

"I guess not."

Derek figured that would be the end of watching over the many blunders of Stiles Stilinski. He and Stiles weren't really friends, so anything the accident prone deputy did to make a fool of himself was now Parrish's responsibility like Sheriff Stilinski said. Derek officially washed his hands of Stiles as he headed out of the station with his new partner trailing close behind.

Most people around the station knew Derek could barely tolerate the younger deputy. Too bad no one informed Derek he should be on cloud nine after finally ridding himself of the nuisance he was paired with for the better part of a year. Instead Derek felt like a worrying pile of knots that wouldn't be untangled until he knew how Stiles and Parrish made it through their first day.

The day went by with little more than introducing Kira to a few of the town's locals she would soon be familiar with on their patrol route. Since she wasn't a trainee, fresh out of the academy like Stiles when he first began working with Derek, things went more smoothly with much less hand holding. And in Stiles' case, Derek had to actually hold Stiles' hand to keep him from being road pavement. How did Stiles make it through life without knowing to look both ways when crossing?

And to Derek's surprise, there was an eerie sense of familiarity with Kira, like she knew all of Derek's prickly quirks and how to handle them.

Later in the day they came back to the station to file a few reports, among the reports was a minor car accident involving a woman dressed as a giant yellow rat on her way to a birthday party and the patriotically dressed man in drag traveling to a comic convention who had no idea of the concept of shaven legs. The accident had Derek thinking about how Stiles would've been completely unprofessional taking selfies with the costumed victims. So of course in Stiles' honor Derek covertly snapped a shot of Kira separating Pikachu and Wonder Woman, Kira later corrected, at arm's length. Derek toyed around with the idea of showing Stiles the picture, knowing he would get a kick out of the ridiculous scene.

Any plans for a show and tell were canceled as Derek found the young man occupying his mind smiling widely at Parrish in the break room.

Standing outside the door, Derek could hear the conversation while maintaining his invisibility.

"You, I like you. I'm gonna keep you." Stiles exclaimed before shoving what weird spread on pita Parrish gave him. Must be one Parrish's health food snacks he tried offering Derek once. Lentils or something? Figures the guy would use food to win over Stiles. It was a cheap, easy tactic in Derek's book.

Derek knew his snapshot of the day would be enough to shine Parrish's pathetic treats. "Hey, Stiles." Derek called out for Stiles' attention but the deputy gave simple, curt nod never slowing down his walk thinking Derek was just being courteous.

After a year together, that was all the two would share from now on? Friendly nods and two worded greetings like strangers on a bus? Derek guessed he only had himself to blame. He was never warm or particularly friendly to Stiles in all of their time together. But that was kind of their thing, Derek thought. There was hardly a week that went by where they didn't bicker like a couple of kids - or an old married couple, as Scott would often say. Derek rolling his eyes at every rant out of Stiles' mouth. Stiles coming up with new ways to tease Derek, like his unwavering theory about Derek being raised by wolves.

At the end of the day Stiles and Derek always had each other's back and respected each other as co-workers.

But it was like Stiles said, Derek was finally getting what he wanted. So why should Stiles tell Derek how his day went with his new partner? Or if Mrs Parker mistook Jordan for a stripper like she did with Derek and tried stuffing quarters in his back pocket. The old lady was on a fixed income and couldn't make it 'rain' with dollar bills. Or 'making it hail for Derek Hale' as Stiles used to say. Derek sighed despondently. Stiles wouldn't being saying that to him anymore. Or much of anything it seems like.

It was fine, really. As long as Derek knew Stiles was in safe hands with Parrish, he would get over his phantom limb pain from having Stiles removed so abruptly from his life. It wasn't like Derek could just come out and admit he enjoyed working with someone he repeatedly and openly asked to separate from. Maybe Stiles was right about him being raised by wolves.

Derek belatedly registered that Stiles' uniform was stained with mud, probably during a run-in with the stray labrador that always seemed to find Stiles on Mondays, and promptly chewed Parrish out for not giving Stiles his change of clothing sooner. Derek had given Parrish spare clothing specifically because of the day of the week. He promised himself that would be the last time he worried himself over Stiles' constant blunders.

Later in the week, Derek broke his promise when he noticed Stiles didn't seem his hyperactive self that morning and it followed into the rest of the day when the young deputy had a small dispute with a perp being handled for processing. A shouting match ensued seemingly out of nowhere. Stiles had a mouth on him, sure. But even he knew when to reign in the horses. And Derek had a good guess as why when he saw the jelly donuts usually reserved for Stiles. Derek knew the food was a weak play by Parrish to win Stiles' approval but he also forgot about the ramifications about switching Stiles' diet.

Once the situation between Stiles and the perp was diffused, Derek marched up to Parrish while Stiles was busy with fingerprinting and photographing the perp.

"Hi, Der-"

Derek jumped past the pleasantries. He was feeling anything but pleasant at the moment. "You're supposed to nab Stiles a donut for the middle of the day. It's why they're there, specially for him." Derek directed a stern finger toward the the box with two purple leaking donuts. "The adderall he uses suppresses his appetite. Your health crap isn't going to help, he'll crash in the middle of the day and become moody. Then, he'll try to have more sugar at night, sleep uneasy and come into work all grouchy. You just screwed him up for the next two days until he gets back on track. Nice job, Parrish, on your first week." Stiles wasn't listening with his head in his desk.

"His body needs time to adjust but the food I give him is better for him in the long run."

"Better for him? Like how he was ready to start a fight right here in the station?"

"Look, I get you were his partner for a long time but I can handle Stiles just fine. You don't need to play babysitter anymore."

"Fine, you know what's better obviously. By the way, your partner is drooling on his desk."

Parrish looked to see the side of Stiles' face smushed on the surface of the desk, snoring peacefully, mumbling about what sounds like beards, and indeed drooling slightly.

Derek knew he should give Parrish some time to learn Stiles' quirks. After all, it took Derek an ample amount of time to adjust to Stiles. Their first week, Stiles abandoned his post the second he heard the siren's call of an ice cream truck. Luckily, it turned into Stiles' first drug bust when the rookie caught the truck driver red handed selling a hefty bag of rolled up pot to a group of teenagers. Stiles still claims to this day that he _sensed_ illegal activity from the truck which was why he ran to it. The rookie's sole suspension to investigate spawned from the menu on the truck that looked like it hadn't been updated in a few decades. The fact that Stiles had been perusing the list of frozen treats was a giveaway that he didn't have good intentions in Derek's mind but the older deputy had decided to let it slide.

Weeks had gone by since Derek had put Parrish in check for his handling of Stiles, allowing the two men to learn each other's quirks without his interference. Derek began thinking that Stiles was now truly in safe hands. And Stiles continued to keep his distance, adhering to a preconceived notion of Derek's dislike toward the young deputy.

But it turns out Stiles wasn't in safe hands - well, in Derek's opinion.

When Derek came to chat with Boyd by his desk, his friend had told him how Stiles and Parrish had raided a meth lab last night during a noise complaint. The raid had ended with a half million dollar operation being shut down and Stiles left injured in the hospital.

Boyd had quelled Derek's fears of Stiles being in critical condition by explaining the cause of his visit to the hospital. Smiling, Boyd had thought Derek might find it humorous how Stiles ended up injured. The smile quickly vanished as he was proven wrong when Derek rushed to Parrish's location at the front desk, cornering the unsuspecting deputy.

"You didn't really let Stiles handle a shotgun. The scrawny guy with little to no coordination over his spastic limbs?" Derek managed to keep from raising his voice but his face was another story. He looked like an unpinned grenade that could go off at the slight disturbance.

Luckily, Stiles' incident happened after most of the dealers were secured and backup had arrived on the scene.

Jordan startled at the accusatory tone and tried to explain. "I did warn him, I tried. But-"

"You don't try with Stiles. He's smart but he's also a spaz. You need to _tell_ him and make it non-negotiable. Do whatever you need to. Hell, say you'll rip his throat out with your teeth if it gets results. But you don't just let him run wild and half-cocked because it's easier. You know what, never mind. I'm going to make sure that this never happens again."

"What does that mean?" Jordan asked, trying his best not to show his intimidation by Derek's furious state and wondering nervously what his final statement meant as he watched Derek leave.

Kira hopped out of her seat waving goodbye to Scott and Isaac as she followed Derek, who looked to be leaving the station. "Derek, are you going somewhere? What about the morning briefing?"

"I'm going to the hospital to visit Stiles." Derek informed as he moved to his desk with determination.

"Oh, I really wanted to get him something. Scott, told me last night what happened. I've been meaning to give him a token of appreciation since my first day. I dunno, it seems really into comic books..."

He collected what he came to his desk for but curiosity got the better of Derek causing him to delay his hospital visit. "For what?"

"Our great partnership." Kira smiled brightly. "He made it so easy being paired up with you. I mean, not that being with you is particularly hard or anything. Just the whole getting to know each other part of any new relationship can be hard, you know. But it wasn't because of Stiles."

At Derek's deeply dumbfounded look, Kira sprinted to her desk and was back in a flash with a folded page handing it to Derek to read.

"Stiles gave this you?" Derek asked quietly as he scanned the paper.

"You two must've meant a lot to each other. Anyway, give him my warmest regards." Kira headed off for the morning briefing soon to start.

 _Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of being Derek Hale's partner. Think of me as your tour guide giving you some tips and tricks to hopefully make it a smooth ride:_

 _Don't let Derek stay in his head too long after an arson case. Distract him any way you can like singing along to a disgustingly cheery pop song in the squad car that he'll probably hate but won't tell you to stop._

 _If you buy snacks, get an extra one for him. He'll say he doesn't want anything but will secretly wish for one and pout for a couple of hours if you don't._

 _And if you're running late: don't text, just call. He will still yell at you but it's better to get it out of the way on the phone so you can make as many eye rolls as you want or just pretend to listen._

 _Try not to be intimidated by his serial killer face, the guy is all bark and no bite. If don't believe me just wait until you meet Mrs Parker and see how red his face can get. Of course, if you break the law then there's major biteage._

 _And the most important thing to know is he may be a grumpy Sourwolf most of the time, but he's also one of the best guys you can ever hope to have your back and he'll always do everything he can to protect you even if he hates you. Good luck and protect him as well as he will protect you._

Derek looked at the note, impressed by the neat handwriting knowing Stiles must've taken his time to make his usual chicken scratch so legible. Derek recalled how many times he had to redo Stiles' rushed, handwritten reports. He was beyond grateful when Stiles started using the computer input option.

Looking back, Derek remembered how odd it was that he of all people had no qualms with his own replacement. Kira felt like a natural fit for Derek. Even with Boyd, his closest friend at the station, there was some friction at first. As a rookie Derek thought he was some kind of RoboCop, unrelenting in his pursuit for order and justice - right down to the smallest infractions like jaywalking and speeding a few miles over the limit. Boyd's more lenient nature helped calmed Derek down immensely and saved him from more collecting anymore complaints from the residents of Beacon Hills, losing his job in the process.

Derek folded the note back up securing it in his wallet and made a mental reminder to get a present for Kira in lieu of returning the note back. She wouldn't be needing it any longer when he returned from the hospital.

Derek didn't bother knocking once he made it to Stiles' room, softly opening the door. "What the- I thought you were hurt!"

He knew Stiles wasn't gravely injured but he expected… something. All he could see was a bandage on Stiles' neck; nothing more than a patch of gauze.

Stiles hadn't so much as flinched when he heard the loud voice of his former partner and continued to play on his phone. "Nah. The shotgun gave a pretty powerful kick and sent me off balance. I cut my neck on something sharp, nothing serious but I did bleed quite a bit though. And I bumped my head when passed out after I touched my neck saw the blood. Doctors had me stay overnight to make sure I didn't have a concussion from the fall or an infection from the cut. Didn't even need stitches." Stiles was supremely surprised once he noticed the items in Derek's arms after he ended his retelling and put away his phone to give Derek his full attention. "Are...are those for me, dude?"

"They were...when I thought something actually happened to you. All you have is a papercut and a bump." Derek said with aggravation.

The bump was more of a guess as far as Derek could see. Although he was internally relieved at Stiles' near mint condition, Derek began second guessing his aggressive attitude toward Parrish this morning, then immediately retracted the thought. Parrish still should have known better.

"Why do you sound upset? Should I run out to get shot in a major artery? Or maybe a punctured lung will make your trip worthwhile. Sorry to waste your precious time after having to deal with me for a year." Stiles frowned, crossing his arms.

Derek rolled his eyes at Stiles' dramatics, a warm wave of familiarity came over him from their exchange. "So you are fine, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine...jerk." Stiles turned his head to pout out the window.

The visiting deputy took the lull in conversation to look around the room. The usual decorations for a patient sat on Stiles' beside table. Flowers, a few balloons, and a...a bright red helmet?

With a smile, Derek wished he'd thought of that as he set his items among the rest. A stuffed black wolf in a permanent howling state in honor of Stiles' nickname for Derek, a paper bag, and Derek's laptop in case Stiles got bored. Who was he kidding? Derek knew Stiles would get bored if he wasn't already.

"I requested a new partner." Derek announced softly, his quiet voice sounded loud in the silent closed room.

Stiles snapped his head back at Derek and began flailing around his arms in exasperation. "Oh my God! Is there no one up to your perfect standards? Kira is fantastic, you're lucky to have her. And news flash, you're no walk in the park yourself, buddy."

"Before you rupture a blood vessel or cause that paper cut to bleed again, how about letting me finish?"

"Proceed."

"I made a request for a new partner, or I guess I should say my former partner back."

"Your old-? Me?" Stiles pointed to his chest, mistified that Derek was actually talking about him.

"Yes, you. Idiot. The Sheriff was more than willing to accommodate my request, plus I don't think Parrish will be fighting me on it. So it looks like you're stuck with me again." Derek waited for a smile that never came.

"Oh, I -" Stiles froze mid-sentence and scrunched his brows together.

Derek's felt his throat constrict from embarrassment as the silence continued. He never thought to consider maybe Stiles wasn't so keen on being his partner either. All the bitching and complaining came from Derek, so he assumed that Stiles never minded working with him. And the letter… Derek really misread the situation. "I mean, it isn't official yet so you can - I can call it off and we can pretend I didn't say this. I'm sorry, Stiles. I thought -"

"Dude, dude." Stiles cut in the anxious deputy's rambling. "Are _you_ planning on popping a blood vessel? I just - I was at loss for words."

"Wow."

"I know. First time for everything, right?" Both men smiled in humor. After a beat of silence, Stiles piped up. "So, you… you really want to work together again?" Stiles asked in an unusual show of timidity for the young deputy.

"Yeah, I do. I'm used to the noise now anyway." Derek shrugged, then settled into a seat beside Stiles' bed appearing to stay.

"Um, don't you have to head back to the station?" Noticing Derek was in his uniform.

"Well, I know how you hate hospitals, so I'll stay until you get discharged."

"Really? It'll be like another 8 hours or something." Stiles said as if unsure Derek hadn't been replaced with an identical version minus the sour personality.

"The nurse told me. You can catch me up on what I've missed. Maybe accompanied by a round of curly fries?"

Derek cocked his head to the paper bag sitting on bedside table. Stiles snatched the bag like it was the last life preserver on a sinking ship, opening and inhaling deeply into the paper bag.

"Dude, you have no idea how much I missed you! Freakin' Parrish and his health food kick. I'm starting to feel bad for berating my dad about his eating habits."

Derek wasn't completely sure if Stiles meant the fries or him when he expressed who he missed. And his fragile ego wouldn't allow him to ask.

"At least you give your dad cheat days."

"Thank you! Parrish is way too strict. Like, he won't even let me have emergency snacks in the glove compartment of the squad car."

Derek thought darkly Parrish was strict about the wrong thing when he hadn't shown that level of strictness with the shotgun.

"Okay, so this happened last night when I was admitted. This girl came in, looked about our age, and she had a - I swear to God - a condom lodged in her throat. She and her boyfriend were at the overlook point in their car getting hot and heavy. Apparently, she was going for a sexy way of putting on the condom which would've worked but I guess the cop on patrol spooked in them in the middle of... you know. Anyways, she tried talking to the doctor and made this high pitched wheezing noise. Derek. I tried, I swear. But I couldn't help laughing. I'm going straight to hell."

Derek shook his head as it looked like Stiles wanted to laugh again at the memory.

"You're right, maybe taking away those curly fries would be a good punishment."

"Hey, let's not get crazy. If I'm heading to hell I want a last meal." Stiles cradled his bag of food close to his chest just in case. "Your turn."

"I didn't get to show you before." _Because you were ignoring me_ , Derek left out. "Check out this picture."

The bedridden deputy stopped breathing momentarily at the sight of Pikachu and Wonder Woman in drag trying to claw each other's face off. Derek supposed chuckling at the picture meant he was heading to hell too. Oh well, there would be some good company while he was there.

"That is too awesome for words. How did she even drive with that thing on? Hm, I guess that explains the accident. I didn't think Kira was lying when she told us but seeing is believing. Did you really not have any clue who Wonder Woman was?" Derek shook his head. "Ugh, we'll have to fix that one day."

Derek silently began arranging the table tray in front of Stiles with his laptop setup on top. Stiles leaned to the side of Derek's brawny frame to find out what he was doing on the laptop and gasped once he saw the file being double clicked. "How about we make it today?"

"You are literally the best, Sourwolf. I freakin' love you." Stiles stared at Derek in wonderment.

"Whatever. Just shut up and watch the movie, Stiles." Derek muttered as he squirmed around in the chair to make himself comfortable and to distract from the rising blush creeping up his neck.

Stiles happily obliged while digging into the paper bag for handful of fries, still warm. It took a minute for Derek to take his eyes off of the sight to join in watching the movie. He only missed the opening credits anyway.

"Stiles, you know I'm kicking your ass for being so stupid yesterday."

Still relaxed and happy, Stiles passes the bag to share with Derek. "Shut up and watch the movie."

A/N: I'd like to do another one where they're in couple counseling after seeing an episode of Hawaii 5-0 with Danny and McGarrett try to resolve their issues in therapy. But I kinda made them all happy with each other... So it'll take some brainstorming to send them for some couch time.


End file.
